Irish Setter Question and Answer

Our red setter is 10m months old. When she was younger she used snap a lot, but nothing too serious. However, now she tends to bite and more frequently and can be quite strong when launching herself at you with her mouth open. Is it too late to train her properly at 10 months. My mom tried for a while, and didn't really succeed, now i'm moving home and intend to take on her training as a full time job! Any tips? Am I too late?

Answers (3)

1-25-2009 I have had Irish Setters since child hood and I have participated in irish rescue for a dozen years or so and I have never seen a mean setter. A little misguided maybe but just not mean. You say she launches with her mouth open, is she playing? Setters are nosy. They want to smell, see and taste everything! I actually have two setters right that couldnt be any more different. One is 95 lbs, quite tall and large. Very relaxed and laid back the other one is small (field type) lean very hyper and less than 50 lbs. Both females, both spayed and both were surrendered by owners that couldnt deal with them. I, however have no trouble. The smallest one is all about ''mouthin''' everything. When teething she would chew on my hand. A very successful way to stop this is the next time she tries to bite you, very quickly grab her BOTTOM jaw (this will render her unable to bite) and loudly tell her NO BITE while you are firmly squeezing her jaw. You will obviously know how much pressure to put to get her attention. The goal is not to inflict pain but to apply punishment to the part of her body that is committing the sin. Trust me. A few times of this and she will stop.

I've never tried the grabing but it sure sounds like it works. My Irish used to do this and everytime she did it I would holler ouch loudly and she would stop. She no longer does grab even when I'm playing with her. Many times this is just a matter of growing up and most breeds grow out of it but my experience with Irish is that you have to be very firm with them moreso than some other breeds. They are also the sweetest breed I've had.

I agree with above post - setters in general are mouthy and playful. My own Irish darling is a terrible growler, but he doesn't mean anything by it; he's really "talkie," too. It's just the way he is and we love him for it.
Definitely try grabbing her jaw and telling her "no bite!" Setters are super-smart, but willful. She'll get the idea, especially if you refuse to respond to her in any way when she behaves this way. Additionally, I strongly recommend curbing her tendancy to jump at you. We tell my boy "four on the floor" before we'll even greet him. You definitely don't want a big, strong dog launching herself at anyone!

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